Network video unit

• US 9,426,531 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2014
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaffer, Theodore, Goodwin, Mark D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parra, Omar S
• Application Number:
  US14/496,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012590A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 725/87, 725/98, 725/100, 725/111, 725/112
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25 Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/441 Acquiring end-user identification , e.g. using personal code sent by the remote control or by inserting a card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

Providing content to content receiving devices, such as digital video recorders, connected to a computer network through a content provider is described. According to one aspect, a server maintains a database correlating contact information to content receiving devices in its network. A user navigates to a web site of the content provider and selects a piece of content, which prompts the content provider to query the server for the contact information, and then transmit a request to download the piece of content to the content receiving device. The request can be a set of content identification information that automatically populates a content guide at the receiving device with an entry corresponding to the requested piece of content. This entry allows the user to confirm, interrupt, resume and cancel a download of the content as desired.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

connecting, by a network interface of a content player device, the content player device to a wide area network;

reporting, by the content player device over the wide area network to a video replay server at which a unique identifier of the content player device is registered, first contact information including an IP address and port combination to which content from the video replay server can be sent to deliver the content to the content player device over the wide area network;

after reporting the first contact information, reporting, by the content player device over the wide area network to the video replay server without requesting any content to the content player device, updated contact information including a different IP address and port combination to which content from the video replay server can be sent to deliver the content to the content player device over the wide area network; and

receiving, by the network interface of the content player device based on the reported updated contact information, particular content transmitted over the wide area network from a content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the transmitted particular content is based on a request for content and the unique identifier of the content player device sent to the registered content provider by a browser-enabled device separate from the content player device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, receiving a download request from the content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the download request includes a request to download the particular content,

and wherein the received download request is addressed to the content player device according to the updated contact information.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

in response to receiving the download request, transmitting by the content player device to the content provider registered with the video replay server a download confirmation,

wherein the download confirmation includes information for scheduling a download of the particular content from the content provider registered with the video replay server to the content player device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, transmitting by the content player device to the video replay server a report message,

wherein the report message includes information indicative of completion of the download of the particular content.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

subsequent to reporting the updated contact information, reporting, by the content player device over the wide area network to the video replay server, second updated contact information for providing content to the content player device over the wide area network; and

receiving, by the network interface of the content player device based on the reported second updated contact information, second content transmitted over the wide area network from a given content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the transmitted second content is based on a second request for content and the unique identifier of the content player device sent to the registered given content provider by a browser-enabled device separate from the content player device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the updated contact information and second updated contact information are instances of updates of contact information reported on a periodic basis by the content player device to the video replay server.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, transmitting by the content player device to the content provider a registration request,

wherein the registration requests includes a request for the content player device to be registered with the content provider.

8. A content player device comprising:

a network interface;

a processor; and

memory storing processor instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the content player device to carry out operations including;

connecting, by the network interface, to a wide area network,

reporting over the wide area network to a video replay server at which a unique identifier of the content player device is registered, first contact information including an IP address and port combination to which content from the video replay server can be sent to deliver the content to the content player device over the wide area network,

after reporting the first contact information, reporting to the video replay server without requesting any content to the content player device, updated contact information including a different IP address and port combination to which content from the video replay server can be sent to deliver the content to the content player device over the wide area network, and

based on the reported updated contact information, receiving particular content transmitted over the wide area network from a content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the transmitted particular content is based on a request for content and the unique identifier of the content player device sent to the registered content provider by a browser-enabled device separate from the content player device.

9. The content player device of claim 8, wherein the operations further include:

prior to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, receiving a download request from the content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the download request includes a request to download the particular content,

and wherein the received download request is addressed to the content player device according to the updated contact information.

10. The content player device of claim 9, wherein the operations further include:

in response to receiving the download request, transmitting to the content provider registered with the video replay server a download confirmation,

wherein the download confirmation includes information for scheduling a download of the particular content from the content provider registered with the video replay server to the content player device.

11. The content player device of claim 8, wherein the operations further include:

in response to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, transmitting to the video replay server a report message,

wherein the report message includes information indicative of completion of the download of the particular content.

12. The content player device of claim 8, wherein the operations further include:

subsequent to reporting the updated contact information, reporting to the video replay server second updated contact information for providing content to the content player device over the wide area network; and

receiving, by the network interface, based on the reported second updated contact information, second content transmitted over the wide area network from a given content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the transmitted second content is based on a second request for content and the unique identifier of the content player device sent to the registered given content provider by a browser-enabled device separate from the content player device.

13. The content player device of claim 12, wherein the updated contact information and second updated contact information are instances of updates of contact information reported on a periodic basis by the content player device to the video replay server.

14. The content player device of claim 8, wherein the operations further include:

prior to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, transmitting to the content provider a registration request,

wherein the registration requests includes a request for the content player device to be registered with the content provider.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a content player device, cause the content player device to perform operations comprising:

connecting, by a network interface, to a wide area network;

reporting over the wide area network to a video replay server at which a unique identifier of the content player device is registered, first contact information including an IP address and port combination to which content from the video replay server can be sent to deliver the content to the content player device over the wide area network;

after reporting the first contact information, reporting to the video replay server without requesting any content to the content player device, updated contact information including a different IP address and port combination to which content from the video replay server can be sent to deliver the content to the content player device over the wide area network; and

based on the reported updated contact information, receiving particular content transmitted over the wide area network from a content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the transmitted particular content is based on a request for content and the unique identifier of the content player device sent to the registered content provider by a browser-enabled device separate from the content player device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further include:

prior to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, receiving a download request from the content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the download request includes a request to download the particular content,

and wherein the received download request is addressed to the content player device according to the updated contact information.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further include:

in response to receiving the download request, transmitting to the content provider registered with the video replay server a download confirmation,

wherein the download confirmation includes information for scheduling a download of the particular content from the content provider registered with the video replay server to the content player device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further include:

in response to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, transmitting to the video replay server a report message,

wherein the report message includes information indicative of completion of the download of the particular content.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further include:

subsequent to reporting the updated contact information, reporting to the video replay server second updated contact information for providing content to the content player device over the wide area network; and

receiving, by the network interface, based on the reported second updated contact information, second content transmitted over the wide area network from a given content provider registered with the video replay server, wherein the transmitted second content is based on a second request for content and the unique identifier of the content player device sent to the registered given content provider by a browser-enabled device separate from the content player device,

wherein the updated contact information and second updated contact information are instances of updates of contact information reported on a periodic basis by the content player device to the video replay server.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further include:

prior to receiving the particular content transmitted over the wide area network from the content provider registered with the video replay server, transmitting to the content provider a registration request,

wherein the registration requests includes a request for the content player device to be registered with the content provider.